Properties oe Colorado Wheat 
9 
very heavy dews. The plants during these two seasons received 
in the aggregate, the same amount of water, so that any differences 
in the effects can be attributed only to the differences in the 
manner of application. One might think that the condition of 
the plant at the time the water was applied had determined the 
effects observed. This does not seem to be the case, for the 
application of 5 inches of irrigating water every 8 or 10 days had no 
effect upon the composition of the wheat grown. While very much 
less water in the form of rainfall caused the production of plants 
with less nitrogen and less ash constituents and the wheat pro¬ 
duced was of inferior quality which may have been mostly due 
to rust which developed very strongly under the conditions of 
that year. The rain water, without doubt, simply washes the 
substance out of the plants. We made an experiment to see whether 
water would actually wash out nitrogenous substances from the 
plants by simply putting cut-up plants in water, and it did. We 
alreadv knew that water will wash out the ash constituents of 
both the plants and the ripe wheat grains. So, after all, it is no 
yreat wonder that a season of well distributed and high rainfall 
‘should produce results different from those produced bv the same, 
or even a much larger amount of irrigating water applied to the 
soil. 
These statements are true of all the varieties v/ith which we 
have experimented. These include Dicklow Spring, Marquis, 
Defiance, Red Fife, Kubanka and Turkey Red. The number of 
experiments made to show the effect of the amount of irrigating 
water applied was 32. 
These are the principal facts that our observations on the 
effect of the amount of irrigating water and the time of its appli¬ 
cation have shown, namely, that the last application of irrigating 
water should be made when the wheat is well in boot or early 
head. Whether an earlier application should be made will depend 
upon the season and can be judged by the condition of the plants. 
Water applied much later than this will do no good and may 
do harm. 
The land may be kept wet up to within 15 days of ripening 
without affecting the composition of the wheat, but if the plant 
is kept wet by frequent rains, the composition of the grain will 
be affected, and if rust is induced, which will be while the plant 
is somewhat green, both the yield and the quality will be affected. 
